[[quoteright:314:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_inline_nxbbm5p0u81rqphkb_400.png]][[caption-width-right:314: Saving princesses two years before [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros Mario]] made it cool.]]

->''"Dragon's Lair: The fantasy adventure where you become a valiant knight, on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon. You control the actions of a daring adventurer, finding his way through the castle of a dark wizard, who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles. In the mysterious caverns below the castle, your odyssey continues against the awesome forces that oppose your efforts to reach the Dragon's Lair. Lead on, adventurer. Your quest awaits!"''-->-- '''Attract mode from ''Dragon's Lair'''''

Still known as a classic to this day, ''Dragon's Lair'' was the first arcade game that utilized UsefulNotes/LaserDisc technology to provide an entirely new gaming experience... back in [[TheEighties 1983]], at least. Rick Dyer and Creator/DonBluth basically created an entire animated world that was placed on a laserdisc, and animated progress screens, death scenes and the like played according to what direction you, as the player, moved via the joystick and "Sword" button.

Your role was Dirk the Daring, a brave yet still reluctant knight in medieval England whose goal was to save [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess]] {{Da|mselInDistress}}phne from the clutches of Singe the Dragon[[note]]Although, he was only ever called by that name in the later TV series[[/note]]. Although Bluth played it straight for the most part in order to give it the feel of games of the era, the characters all were somewhat on the cartoony side, as Dirk had the look of a gallant knight, but was somewhat of an average joe ComedicHero who would get freaked out upon seeing the random NightmareFuel-type creatures and enemies he'd encounter within the castle in order to save princess "Daphne" (modeled from ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' pin-ups) from the dragon Singe.

The game itself has garnered a place in the Smithsonian Institution, and has had umpteen versions of home consoles, PC systems, smartphones and even homemade hacks adding further scenes and adventures. It also had an AnimatedAdaptation on Creator/{{ABC}}, courtesy of Ruby-Spears.

The game (along with its sci-fi counterpart ''VideoGame/SpaceAce'', as well as the sequel) was well-known for [[TheManyDeathsOfYou dozens of death scenes]], all of which were unique to a given scenario. The cartoon included a variation by offering Dirk a choice of actions before each commercial, and showing what would have happened to him if he had made the wrong one in the next scene.

Even though it is the TropeMaker for ActionCommands and PressXToNotDie, its common place among gamers may set them off. This is still probably better than every other FMV game ever made, though - save for those that followed this gameplay formula (like the aforementioned ''VideoGame/SpaceAce'', and Taito's ''VideoGame/TimeGal'').

A movie was announced (and even storyboarded), but has languished in DevelopmentHell for years. Bluth and Goldman were still trying to raise funds for it until recently when they attempted a Kickstarter campaign for the movie in late 2015. Unfortunately the campaign failed to reach even half of its proposed goal, and Bluth pulled the plug on it as of November 24, 2015. Despite this setback, [[{{Determinator}} Bluth and Goldman didn't give up]] and moved their fundraising to Indiegogo, which has not only successfully been funded, but far exceeded their minimum goal of donations. The film has now entered production.

There's also a six-issue comic that's based on the game that also incorporates elements from the cartoon series (such as Dirk's horse, Bertram).

It should be noted that ''Dragon's Lair'' was not the first laserdisc game ever made (that honor belongs to a UsefulNotes/HorseRacing game called ''Quarter-Horse''), but it ''was'' the one that started it all. It was also the first ever video game to (initially) cost 50 cents (i.e., two quarters) to play.[[note]]Not the first ''arcade'' game, however -- that honor goes to Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/BlackHole'' pinball from 1981.[[/note]]

Now available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}.----!! ''Dragon's Lair'' contains examples of the following:* AbsoluteCleavage: The princess's outfit.* ActionCommands: This game was the {{Trope Maker|s}} for requiring the player to execute a particular command (either moving the joystick in a certain direction[[note]] In some versions of the game (including the original arcade version), there were multiple correct directions for certain actions.[[/note]] or using the sword) in a short time window based (usually) on visual cues in order to proceed through the game. Fail to execute the required command in the time window, and Dirk meets a grisly (if hilarious) demise.* ActionGirl: In the comics, Daphne is this. Yes, Singe captures her, but he has to work at it, and she and Dirk were hugely overmatched.* AdaptationalModesty: When the game was made into a Saturday morning cartoon, of course Daphne couldn't wear that barely-there outfit she does in the game. Lampshaded in the comic miniseries where it's revealed the glass bubble she's in actually turns maidens kept inside it into airheaded bimbos who think nothing of parading themselves like that.* AdvancingWallOfDoom: Whether they be crumbling bridges, encroaching acid blobs or electrified floors, Dirk is almost always being chased by something.* AmbidextrousSprite: Stages are sometimes mirrored, and Dirk is either right or left handed depending on the mirror. This can sometimes be the best visual cue to determine which move sequence is required in rooms with two possible orientations.* AnimatedMusicVideo: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoWK6RTHYMM "He's My Guy,"]] sung by Julie Eisenhower playing Daphne's singing voice.* AntiFrustrationFeatures:** The home ports of the game often come with the option of having what button you need to press at what time displayed on default so as not to confuse newcomers--fortunately, the option to turn these off also exist for hardcore ''Dragon's Lair'' gamers.** Newer versions of the game (such as on PSN) offer a save feature that, if the player gets a game over, can immediately put Dirk in the last room saved in instead of requiring the player to play through the whole game up to that point all over again.* AstralCheckerboardDecor: Dirk has to jump from square to square on an electrified chessboard to keep the bad knight from electrocuting him. * AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage: One of the first rooms you visit is slowly filled by the green tentacles of an unseen monster from upstairs.* BadassNormal: Dirk the Daring. He has none of the magical, elemental or lethal weapons or abilities of the many, many monsters and villains he encounters in the games, armed only with a sword and his wits, yet goes through all of his adventures with virtually that alone.* BatOutOfHell: The Bat King.* BigBad: Singe the Dragon sets the game in motion by kidnapping Princess Daphne, prompting Dirk to go on a rescue mission that ends with a confrontation with Singe himself.* BloodlessCarnage: Most monsters simply vanish into thin air when slain by Dirk's sword. Giddy Goons, when sliced in half, apparently are made of blue citrus cells. The best death scene that doesn't involve Dirk would be Singe, and there's still no blood here.* BossArenaIdiocy: Singe actually keeps the sword that is able to kill him in the TreasureRoom where he sleeps. (Of course, that only makes him an idiot as far as the storyline goes; gameplay wise, knowing this information and actually grabbing the sword and using it right before Singe toasts Dirk medium rare are two different things.)* TheChewToy: Dirk. He can be [[TheManyDeathsOfYou burned to death, electrocuted, drowned, hurled into bottomless pits, crushed by falling debris, crushed by tentacle monsters, swarmed by bats, engulfed by tar, dashed against rocks or walls, impaled by magic flying weapons...]] and it's always hilarious.* CombatTentacles:** In one room lots of green tentacles will fall from the ceiling in order to trap Dirk.** A lot of different enemies will try to strangle or crush Dirk in this fashion in the second game.* ComicBookAdaptation: Beginning in 2003, CrossGen Publishing produced a comic-book miniseries adapting the original game, with elements from the animated series included, such as Bertram.* CowardlyLion: This describes Dirk to a tee. He ScreamsLikeALittleGirl at the sight of almost every monster or trap in the game, but he's still deadly with that sword once he overcomes his fear.* DamselInDistress: Princess Daphne.* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Sort of. Don Bluth realized early on how unflattering Daphne's character was, not being much more than an oversexed, air-headed trophy girlfriend, and decided to portray Dirk as DumbMuscle, so that they'd "be made for one another."* DirtyOldMan:** In the 3D Remake's ending, Mordroc zaps Princess Daphne in the butt. It doesn't seem to do much more than startle her, but Mordroc seems to ...rather enjoy it.** Singe, according to the comics. Daphne's {{Stripperiffic}} costume isn't her idea, it's Singe's, and she's just the latest kidnapped maiden to have to wear it. * TheDitz: Daphne. (Of course, Dirk isn't very smart either, so it evens out.) Played straight mostly, except when she tells Dirk what to do: She knows where the key is and how to defeat the dragon. Daphne also knows that the sword has magical powers. [[HiddenDepths This Ditz is definitely smarter than she looks...]]* DragonHoard: Singe owns a hoard in a treasure room.* DragonsPreferPrincesses: The player's mission is to save Princess Daphne from a dragon.* DummiedOut:** ''Dragon's Lair'' didn't '''initially''' have the "only one way to beat the scene" scheme (the thing which was averted in ''VideoGame/SpaceAce'' later): it indeed included more exits and versions of the same scene. Not only that, but it included completely different revival and game over scenes! Of course, all that was redummied back into the game with the release of ''20th Anniversary Edition'', yet in a really, really [=VHSish=] quality compared to the main game.** In an earlier version of the game's attract mode, there was a clip where a gargoyle is tossing a spear at Dirk. This was from a scene that was ultimately never finished. It got remade and was added into the ''20th Anniversary Edition''.* EverythingTryingToKillYou: ** Did something just flash white? It will likely kill you if you don't press the appropriate button or stick direction.** In the NES port, you die if you walk into a door, A FREAKIN' DOOR. Dirk doesn't just die, he [[StrippedToTheBone changes to a pile of bones]],[[note]]which he usually does during the arcade game's GameOver scene[[/note]] from a door.* ExcusePlot: Why did this dragon kidnap Daphne? Dragons like to kidnap princesses. Why is Dirk trying to rescue her? Knights always rescue princesses from dragons. Need more than that? Didn't think so. (Although, both the comic book and animated adaptations gave Singe a ''little'' more motivation.)* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The cartoon show featured "choose your move" segments offering Dirk a choice of actions, before cutting to commercial. In theory a great idea, ''in practice however'', the viewer would sometimes get screwed as each option, no matter how logical at first, [[DidntSeeThatComing would still end in disaster]]. The writers then have Dirk [[TakeAThirdOption choose his own strategy! Which wasn't even a choice available to him!]]* FakeDifficulty: Ooooh boy... the NES version is probably the worst. Every single subtrope can be listed. [[http://www.joueurdugrenier.fr/dragons-lair/ The dedicated episode]] of ''WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier'' (in French) shows large portions of the pain the player has to endure.* FateWorseThanDeath: If he makes the wrong moves, Dirk can be shut into a sarcophagus by ghosts or locked into a tiny alcove by a gate (in both cases, he probably dies slowly of starvation).* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Daphne's "outfit" (or lack thereof), which is appropriate for a character with a design inspired by ''Playboy'' models.* GiantSpider: One appears in a room where he tries to jump on [[PersonalSpaceInvader Dirk's face to bite his neck.]]* GoingInCircles: Zigzagged. Dirk has to go through a lot of areas twice (and in the case of the elevator scene, more than that), but there's always a subtle difference to getting through it the second time, usually involving the stage being flipped from left to right (which can lead to moments of DamnYouMuscleMemory if you reflexively go right instead of left to avoid a collapsing floor or dodge a monster).* GoryDiscretionShot: Some of the death animations cut to Dirk's sword or helmet hitting the ground rather than showing [[{{Gorn}} what actually happened.]]* HeadlessHorseman: Dirk has to dodge him and is unable to use his sword due to the Horseman casting a spell on it.* HeroicMime: Dirk, for the most part. He only ever says three words, two in the first game and one in the second. In ''Dragon's Lair'' he says, "Uh oh!" during the flaming ropes scene, and "Wooooooooooooooooooooow!" upon seeing Daphne, and "D-Daphne? Yahoo!" when finally rescuing her in ''Dragon's Lair II''.* HollywoodDrowning: Certain Game Over sequences involve this happening to Dirk.* ImpactSilhouette: One death in the Smithy scene has an anvil hitting Dirk square in the torso causing him and the anvil to crash through the wall behind him. This leaves a Dirk+anvil shaped hole.* InfinityPlusOneSword: The magic sword which can kill Singe. It's in the final level of the game and is implied to be the only weapon powerful enough to slay the dragon.* IrisOut: The game over sequences end with a traditional "contracting circle" iris out on whatever grisly fate has befallen Dirk this time.* KaizoTrap: If you set the game to Hard after you beat the Bat King, the bats will [[spoiler:''still get you'' no matter what.]]* LiterallyShatteredLives: One death scene in the Flying Barding level has Dirk and the barding literally shattered when hitting a wall.* LivingStatue: The Smithy qualifies as one. He remains inanimate while Dirk fends off the flying sword, mace, anvil, and spear, only coming to life to attack Dirk when the latter tempers his sword in the fires of the forge.* MagmaMan: In the LethalLavaLand section some fat, humming... humanoids made of red lava will jump out of the craters and go after Dirk. If they catch him they jump with him in a nearby crater, turning him into one of them.* TheManyDeathsOfYou: The hilarious death animations are part of the game's appeal, and take a lot of the sting out of its NintendoHard nature, to the point that you may actually purposely fail a level just to see how Dirk will bite it this time. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUZsWwLMk9w Wanna see?]]* NintendoHard: There's a lot of TrialAndErrorGameplay involved in getting the correct move sequence in any given room (such as whether to attack enemies with the sword or dodge them, or which direction to dodge in the face of an obstacle), and the timing for some of them can be frustratingly unforgiving. The original arcade version was effectively a quarter-devouring vacuum cleaner.* NoNameGiven: Singe the Dragon, the villain, is not named in the actual game--that would be given to him later in follow-up material.* OneHitPointWonder: In all versions of the game, excluding the NES version. Unless Dirk catches fire, which will kill him in just one touch, of course. The NES version is only technically an aversion, as Dirk has 11 hit points... and almost everything in the game that can deal damage will do 11 hit points' worth.** Averted in the 3D remake; Dirk actually has a health bar in that game.** It's also played straight by the enemies: Almost all of them, including the big bad Black Knight, the giant Bat King and the skeletal Crypt Keepers will get vanquished in a single sword strike.* PendulumOfDeath: One deathtrap requires Dirk the Daring to traverse a passageway where three of these swinging blades await to OneHitKill Dirk, who must PressXToNotDie to dodge these blades. * PressStartToGameOver: You could lose all your lives in a hurry, especially since the level order is randomised and, in the arcade version, dying will send Dirk to a different level, making it common to face the most difficult levels in the game within seconds of pressing Start.* PressXToNotDie: Pretty much the TropeMaker and UrExample, only it didn't even tell you what to press or when (though it did have the occasional flashing hint - although the flashing hints mixed genuine clues with SchmuckBait). ''Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp'' on the other hand had every possible correct move flashing (including the treasures that needed to be collected).* RedHerring: Several rooms feature flashing/glowing items which might seem to indicate that Dirk should go after them, but which actually lure him to his doom.** When Dirk is caught up in the gale in the Wind Room, a diamond can be glimpsed through a hole in the wall; there's nothing but a sheer, fatal drop on the other side of the wall.** In the Sliding Stairs room (AKA the YMCA room), after the second set of stairs turns into a sharp incline, both the hatch on the left of the screen and the chain on the right of the screen will flash. The hatch leads to safety, but the chain will release a torrent of water that washes Dirk into the bottomless pit in the middle of the room.** In the Checkerboard Corridor, there are two doors, one at the front of the room and one to the left that opens after Dirk dodges the fire and collapsing floor. The door at the front of the room leads to a small alcove; if Dirk enters it, a gate will close behind him, trapping him there.** The Room of Fire has a door at the back which opens and closes, usually a sign that this is Dirk's intended exit. If he tries to enter it, he will be consumed by flames; the actual exit is behind the bench to the left of the room.* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Not only is the Lizard King abhorrent, he ''fights dirty''. He attacks Dirk after a magic pot of gold snatches Dirk's sword and flies away with it, meaning you have to dodge his attacks while chasing down the sword, and can only get a shot at him when you recover it. ''Not'' as easy as it sounds, and when you manage to kill this guy, you're gonna feel as good as Dirk seems to, judging from his expression. * ScareChord: The game over screen.* SchmuckBait: One room is nothing but a table with a potion on it labeled "Drink Me". In a castle where every single inanimate object has been magically enchanted to kill you [[note]] If you let Dirk drink the "Drink Me" potion, it magically turns him into dust and the potion becomes the water in his body [[/note]]. Interesting fact: if you lose all your lives on this scene, the table will have a loaf of bread instead of the potion and the sign will say "Eat Me". Which still counts as a Schmuck Bait. Even more interesting fact: Losing your final life in this scene in the Xbox 360 and Steam versions gives you the "Eat Me" achievement.* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Some of Dirk's screams are pretty high-pitched.* ShoutOut: Dirk seems to have been modeled off of Sir Kay from ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone''.* SocietyMarchesOn: The original developers of this game admitted in a 2012 interview that they would likely ''never'' get away with portraying Daphne as the airhead she appeared to be here in today's video game market. * SpeedRun: Well, it's almost impossible, but if you can complete this game without being killed even once, while timing yourself, you'd find the total gamescore is just under thirteen minutes, amazingly enough.* SquashedFlat: In the Boulder Trench/Rolling Balls screen, one of Dirk's death animations involves him being run over by one of the coloured balls in the trench, resulting in him being flattened and plastered over the outside like a decal. This can also happen to him in another room when he's trapped between two closing pedestals. If the player does not get him out, he tries to use his feet to hold the top pillar up, but they close together with him in the middle.* StepfordSmiler: Maybe Daphne is a little overconfident or just trying to ThinkHappyThoughts when Dirk finds her. Whatever the case, she doesn't seem to be frightened in the least, even though she's eager for him to get her out. * StrippedToTheBone:** In the NES version, many enemies and obstacles ([[EverythingTryingToKillYou and DOORS!]]) do this to Dirk regardless of the HP meter.** The GameOver sequence in the arcade original (but not the sequel) features Dirk fading into a skeleton, which promptly collapses into a pile of bones.* {{Stripperiffic}}: Daphne and her little sheer black dress. Lampshaded in the comic: Singe has a legion of maidens he's transformed into vain bubbleheads [[GoGoEnslavement who all dress like that]], and Daphne just happens to be his latest acquisition. She does seem embarrassed about it and as they ride away at the end she's wearing a robe over it.* TakeAThirdOption: In the Saturday morning cartoon version before cutting to commercial the narrator would ask the viewer what they'd do to get Dirk and his friends out of the problem they were facing, then show the various outcomes before showing what he actually did to get out of the mess. Invariably it was a possibility the narrator hadn't actually mentioned.* ThongOfShielding: Daphne's "dress" is actually a thong teddy with a transparent black silk robe over it.* TreasureRoom: The final room is Singe's [[DragonHoard treasure hoard]], with Daphne in her orb prison as the main "exhibit". Dirk spends the first few seconds trying to keep collapsing piles of treasure from rousing the sleeping dragon.* TrialAndErrorGameplay: When an action doesn't have a preceding cue. Also applies to the Commodore 64 port.* UpdatedRerelease: Oh boy, where to begin... Considerably, EVERY "direct-to-video" port was superior to the arcade original in the sense of having new scenes. Of course, it can't be compared with ''Dragon's Lair 20th Anniversary Edition'' which not only does include loads and loads of bonus material, but also loads and loads of DummiedOut scenes. ''Escape From Singe's Castle'' for Amiga also has completely new scenes which are... '''Oh come ON''', may anyone trace these for the new release already?!* YetAnotherStupidDeath:** The direct-to-arcade versions indeed do qualify, but the NES port takes it to [[UpToEleven new heights]]. The castle door that kills Dirk instantly should only he contact with it? ''Everything's'' trying to kill you indeed.** In the PAL Super NES version, you can even die ''in the password screen''.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: A section of [[Literature/TheBible The Garden of Eden]] involves escaping a [[FatGirl morbidly obese Eve]] who thinks Dirk is Adam.* AncientEgypt: Level 6.* AndCallHimGeorge: Failing to dodge Eve causes Dirk to be hugged to death.* ApocalypseWow: The fall of Garden of Eden [[spoiler:after Eve eats the apple]] near the end of Level 4.* ArtifactOfDoom: The Death Ring, the one inside The Casket of Doom.* ArtifactTitle: Cameo of Singe's bones aside, the eponymous Dragon's Lair only appears briefly in the opening sequence, and the plot otherwise involves sci-fi fantasy and time travel elements, and a wizard for a villain.* BalefulPolymorph: If Dirk gets hit by one of the flying playing cards, he'll turn into a "Joker" playing card.* BandLand: The second half of the Beethoven level.* BeenThereShapedHistory: In [[Literature/TheBible the Garden of Eden stage]], Dirk tricks Eve into eating the apple.* BigBad: Mordroc the wizard.* BigBeautifulWoman: Eve. Reading the [=YouTube=] comments on playthroughs of the game show some fans even prefer her to Daphne!* BigShutUp: Near the end of Level 1 Dirk tangles with the [[StockNessMonster Loch Ness Monster]] in Singe's old lair, who keeps shouting "Thief!" at him. After Dirk escapes in the time machine, Nessie yells "Thief!" to Daphne's mother Hilda who responds "Oh, shut up!" and hits him with a rolling pin.* BossBanter: Mordroc seems to enjoy calling you "Fool" at every chance he gets.* BrawnHilda: Daphne's mother. She even wears a Viking helmet.* CatsAreMean: One is the Cheshire Cat. Another is Beethoven's cat. Both wanna eat Dirk badly and do a sweet, sweet crunch when they do. The Cheshire Cat, though, is [[AlwaysABiggerFish eaten by the Jabberwock]]. This ''was'' made by Creator/DonBluth, after all; he has gone on record as saying he prefers dogs to cats.* ColourCodedTimestop: The first time you grab one of the treasures in the ReCut Edition.* ConcealmentEqualsCover: Parodied in Level 5, when Dirk uses the giant flying violin as a shield against the music note bullets coming at him and getting deflected off the violin.* ContinuityNod: During the first level you run in the old castle from the first game and in the treasure room you can see Singe's skeleton and even his golden key. In that same level, not only do you find Singe's skeleton and golden key, but also the Bouncing Skulls with a death scene that is like ''Dragon's Lair''.* CrazyPeoplePlayChess: The second quarter of Level 3.* CreepyCrossdresser: [[spoiler: You didn't think Daphne would be THAT easy to find, did you?]]* DarkerAndEdgier: Even the attract mode clearly shows us that, well, the landscapes' brightness of the sequel has been decreased compared to the original ''Dragon's Lair''. [[DenserAndWackier Still, it manages to couple it with]] ''[[DenserAndWackier purely]]'' [[DenserAndWackier insane things going on the screen]]. Can you say it isn't Creator/TimBurton-esque at some points?* DerangedAnimation:** The ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' sequence makes the original look tame in comparison.** The scene where Beethoven plays a piano and a giant cat (likely because you're shrunk in this scene), tries to eat you. Doesn't qualify yet. Just watching from there, the piano levitates, Beethoven briefly turns into a blonde version of himself wearing brightly-colored piano style clothing and sunglasses (an obvious homage to Elton John), violins fly out of the piano, the cat gets more purple in tone (as well as bigger), grows horns and '''breathes fire''', musical notes attack you, you have to walk on a hovering piano key walkway and Beethoven's coat catches on fire. Definitely qualifies!* DinnerDeformation: The giant snakes and a huge spider near the beginning.* DirtyKid: In the Eden level, the Cherubs - who look no older than kindergartners - seem a little ''too'' interested in climbing around on Dirk, tickling him, and holding him down and spanking him.* DisguisedInDrag: Though unintentionally, Tweedledee and Tweedledum dress Dirk up as Alice in Level 3.* DisneyAcidSequence: While Stage 3 was trippy enough to begin with, it completely spirals into chaos following the appearance of the Jabberwock. Stage 5 starts normally enough, but Beethoven's "creative gust" quickly turns it into one of these.* DummiedOut: [[GangplankGalleon The Pirate Ship.]] In the ending scene when Dirk is emptying his bag full of treasures a jolly roger flag is visible among them.* EatenAlive: As in the first game, a ''lot'' of death scenes involve Dirk being eaten. Swallowed whole by the "Loch Ness Monster"/Scottish snake thing in the castle, swallowed whole by a huge spider in the same region, being gobbled up by the Cheshire Cat or Beethoven's cat, eaten alive by spiders... the worst such death is probably the one where Monster Daphne sticks Dirk into her mouth and then yanks out his ''sucked-clean skeleton''.* EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped: Every time Eve says "Adam!" while calling after Dirk, the subtitles say "Apple!"* EverythingTryingToKillYou: In the first game, it made sense due to every creature in the castle being a murderous demonic thing, but in the sequel, even the characters that are not overtly malicious can still take you to your grave.* ExpositoryHairstyles: All of Dirk and Daphne's children have these. Two of the girls have [[OdangoHair hair buns]] that are kind of an {{expy}} of Princess Leia's hairstyle from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Two other girls have GirlishPigtails. And all of the boys have the same [[SeventiesHair short hairstyle]], however old they are.* ExtremeOmnivore: Eve contentedly eats the flower Dirk offers her.* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Mordroc explodes in both endings.]]* FantasyLGBT: It's saying something to have a time travelling {{Beethoven|wasanalienspy}} shape shift into a flamboyant Music/EltonJohn.* FluffyCloudHeaven: The exterior of the Garden of Eden.* GagNose: Mordroc's nose, so long that it has even a sort of tiny tree branch protruding from it.* Gainaxing: Eve does this quite a bit in her appearance.* GiantSpider:** Several in the Egyptian level, including humongous beetles.** Also one near the game's starting point.* GoldColoredSuperiority: All the bonus items appear to be made of gold, except for the Ace of Spades.* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: The Queen of Hearts, of course, and logically, Daphne's mother.* GuideDangIt: The player must collect various treasures throughout the game in order to get to the final level and finish the game, and one of these is the notorious golden butterfly. It's so well hidden that the [=PS3=] version of the game contains a trophy for nabbing it on your first run through the game.* HappilyMarried: Dirk and Daphne are evidently happily married enough to have sired ten children, who appear to be rather close in age to each other.* HeartbrokenBadass: Near the end of the game, [[spoiler:after Dirk [[BroughtDownToNormal brings Daphne down to normal]] with the deathly side effect of the Death Ring in the original edition, when he sees her lying in the pedestal bed, he thinks he has failed her or caused her death and gives what he thinks is their LastKiss and buries his head in grief, all the while using {{Offhand Backhand}}s on the little imps that repeatedly attack him. Little does he realize that the kiss was actually a TrueLovesKiss that has broken the spell while he is fighting off the imps and trying to stay alive by climbing onto crumbling platforms; and when she calls his name, he recovers completely upon seeing her alive and well]].* TheHedgeOfThorns: After the fall of Eden, massive thorns sprout up all over the place. If Dirk isn't careful, he may find himself caught between these spiny branches.* HighAltitudeBattle: Dirk spends about half the game hanging onto or falling off things.* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Dirk manages to remove the Death Ring from Daphne and toss it back at Mordroc, turning him into a helpless, fat green thing full of greenish bumps. Dirk finishes the sorcerer off by slashing him, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath exploding]] as a direct result.]]* HostileWeather: The moment objects fly up through the roof during Level 5.* HugeRiderTinyMount: Daphne's mother riding an ox while chasing Dirk early in the game. While the ox itself is full grown, she's even larger than it is!* ImpactSilhouette: In one failure scene of Level 3, Dirk crashes into one of the teapots, leaving behind a Dirk-shaped hole.* ImplausibleBoardingSkills: Near the end of Level 3, Dirk the Daring uses one of the playing cards as a surfboard while riding the wave on the ocean of tears and avoiding the Jabberwock and oncoming teapots.* IncredibleShrinkingMan: For some reason, Dirk is the size of a mouse in the Beethoven level. Probably RuleOfCool, because the whole sequence (which many consider to be the best scene in the game) wouldn't have happened had either Beethoven noticed Dirk was there or the cat not been able to chase Dirk.* IrisOut: As with the previous game, the game over sequences end this way. In the Garden of Eden level, many of the sequences end with a heart-shaped iris out.* ItemGet: A downplayed one that accompanies the ColourCodedTimestop when Dirk grabs one of the treasures.* KaizoTrap:** Even after Dirk has defeated the BigBad, there are still some monsters to fight, some crumbling floors to evade [[spoiler:and [[CallBack a pillar you might fly into face-first]]]].** Well, naturally, Kaizoness begins [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle a bit earlier]], on the sixth level. After hours of attempting to beat this game, you find out that [[spoiler:you actually weren't as close to mummified Daphne as you would think first]].* KilledOffForReal: The game confirms the death of Singe the Dragon from the previous game, via a cameo of his skeleton in the castle's treasure room.* LeanAndMean: Mordroc is absolutely skeletal.* LiterallyShatteredLives: Some game over sequences involve Dirk literally shattered when hit.* LittleBlackDress:** And a very dark version of FairytaleWeddingDress, in which a transformed Princess Daphne is wearing along with her black wedding veil (and holding white flowers) in the Narrator's telling of the BadFuture (which is thankfully present only in the intro).** This also occurs at the beginning of the alternate Level 7, [[spoiler:as you can see her only for a few seconds before she suddenly vanishes]].* MagicPants: When Daphne gets turned into a monster by the Death Ring, her dress grows with her so as to keep her modest at all times. [[spoiler:Subverted with Mordroc, though, as his transformation has him completely bursting out of his cloak.]]* TheManyDeathsOfYou: [[HaveANiceDeath And they]] [[DenserAndWackier all got batshit crazy.]] Dirk's reactions have shifted to match; while he generally screams in terror or grimaces in pain during his deaths in the first game, there are several death scenes in the second game in which he shoots the player a DeathGlare as he falls to his doom, and one where he whistles in fake nonchalance as he and the time machine slowly sink into lava. There is also a Director's Cut death scene in Level 7, which looks similar to the first death scene in Level 1. In fact, there are a total of 3 Director's Cut death scenes.* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Dirk and Daphne have ten children, who seem to be pretty close in age to one another.* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Both played straight and inverted near the end of the game: [[spoiler:while you are fighting off the imps, Daphne slowly wakes up in the background. In the next scene, you can see her stretching out her hands and yawning in the foreground while you control and spend the rest of the background fighting off more imps and jumping onto crumbling platforms, oblivious to her awakening.]]* MindScrew: Any level starting from the third, but the ''Beethoven level'' '''especially'''. Let's see. First, we have Mordroc, Daphne and Dirk shrunk down to the size of mice. Second, starting from the 30th second of the scene, the piano flies into the air, breaks the roof of Beethoven's house and flies SO freaking high it's actually gone ''a bit'' farther out than the hemisphere. Next, a BandLand sequence, where not only the instruments get maximally freaky, but Beethoven himself starts looking like Music/EltonJohn, while his kitty becomes a fire-breathing devil. And it's not even the end of the level... ''yet.''* MissionPackSequel: The gameplay is identical to the original game, aside from being able to collect treasures and being more linear.* MomentKiller: A LITERAL one: the demonic gargoyles can kill Dirk in interruption before he can perform a TrueLovesKiss if you don't watch out.* MotiveDecay: A new record. Daphne's mother goes from telling Dirk to rescue Daphne to [[RevengeBeforeReason attempting to murder him for losing her]] within seconds.* MouthCam: At the end of Level 2, the Tyrannosaurus Rex closes its mouth on Dirk and the time machine, and the scene cuts to the inside of its mouth as it attempts to swallow them both before they get a chance to escape.* {{Mummy}}: A big one in the Egyptian tombs.* MusicalisInterruptus: Occurs if you fail in some parts of Level 5, and if you grab each one of the two treasures -- [[spoiler:the hammer and the butterfly]] -- in the ReCut edition (complete with each of the two four-note "short-short-short-long" motif chimes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 as a downplayed ItemGet).* TheNameIsBondJamesBond: In the Treasure Room of Level 1, a talking time machine notices Dirk approaching it and says, "You must be Dirk, Dirk the Daring."* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the Eden level you actually have to listen to the snake and give the apple to Eve, who proceeds to devour it and cause the fall of Eden. Complete with thunderbolts and thorns everywhere. [[SarcasmMode Bravo....]]* NintendoHard: Even more so than the original. The command windows are much shorter, and the visual cues as to what you're supposed to do next can be almost impossible to follow if you haven't memorized the scene. Even at its hardest arcade setting, ''Dragon's Lair'' was a walk in the park compared to the easiest settings for ''Dragon's Lair II''.* NonLethalKO: Many of the "deaths" in the sequel aren't particularly deadly (though possibly painful), just embarrassing or inconvenient. Of particular note is Dirk being given a TickleTorture or a spanking by a bunch of cherubs, Eve or a snake-monster falling in love with him, and several of the defeats Daphne's mother can give you.* NonStandardGameOver:** One Game Over is Daphne being transformed into an old hag.** Another involves Dirk becoming a clone of Mordroc.* ObnoxiousInLaws: The whole first level is escaping Daphne's [[BrawnHilda angry mother]].** [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "YOU! BETTER! FIND! MY! DAUGHTER! OR!]] '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis EEEEEEELSE!!!!!"]]'''''** She can't seem to decide whether she wants to make Dirk find Daphne or murder him.** She warms up considerably when she sees Daphne safe and sound in the ending.* OffhandBackhand: Dirk does this a few times throughout the game. Example: a snake tries to attack from behind, and he gives it a quick bop with his sword in such a way that it looks like it was on accident -- but it's a player command, and you die if you don't. Dirk even does this while GRIEVING when he thinks Daphne is dead, his head buried in despair... but when an imp moves in to attack -- smack! -- and Dirk doesn't even acknowledge it. Also near the beginning of the game, particularly when a bunch of monsters attack him while he's trying to focusing on escaping Daphne's mother.* OffModel:** When Daphne wakes up and is reunited with Dirk she knocks off his helmet and loses both her shoes. They randomly regain and lose both items in the final scenes at the game's end.** One very glaring (but, given the game's breakneck pacing, easy to miss) continuity error can be seen in the opening sequence--when Daphne's Mother is chasing Dirk, in the scene right after Dirk mounts his horse and takes off, she is suddenly riding an ox literally out of nowhere!** Beethoven's cat knocks a candle off the piano early on in stage 5, the candle is back in its original position but a moment later.** In the mud swamp scene early in the game, there's a shot where Dirk is being carried by a pteradon toward Mordroc's position, Mordroc can be heard shouting at and taunting Dirk, but he completely freezes in place, not moving his body or his mouth at all.* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Gatekeeper who turns Dirk into a chibi WingedHumanoid version of himself, and the tiny cherubim that try to tickle him in Level 4.* {{Prehistoria}}: Stage 2. And it is here that Dirk fights off [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaurs]] and [[OurCentaursAreDifferent winged centaurs]] that carry Daphne away.* PressXToNotDie: As with the previous game, the entire gameplay is built around it.* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The soundtrack that plays entirely in the background of Level 5 while you avoid getting eaten by a fire-breathing cat is the first part of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Allegro con brio). This also counts as a GeniusBonus when you notice that the symphony number is the same as the level number.* ReCut: The Director's Cut edition appears in most recent ports of the game. In this one, a special brief scene plays the first time you grab each one of the treasures, and once you collect all of the treasures, it triggers a short, alternate Level 7 [[spoiler:in which, after Dirk [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks throws the sword at Mordroc]] as the wizard places the Death Ring on Daphne's finger, instead of being turned into a monster like in the original, she suddenly falls in a deathly faint and vanishes, leaving the ring lying on the floor; and you suddenly find her lying on her bed after defeating him. This kinda counts as either FridgeBrilliance or FridgeLogic]].* RedOniBlueOni: A bit inverted with the Twin Snakes of Eden. The Purple Snake (Red Oni) is talkative but smart and cautious and tries keeping Dirk safe as best as he can; the Green Snake (Blue Oni), on the other hand, is quiet but ferocious and tries to devour our hero in spite of the Purple Snake's advice not to harm him.* RhymesOnADime:** Mordroc and his brother, though this mostly goes to the latter as a time machine.** The Cheshire Cat can count, since he says the first stanza of ''[[StealthPun Jabberwocky]]''. So can Tweedledee and Tweedledum.* RollingPinOfDoom: Used by Daphne's mother.* {{Rotoscoping}}: Used to animate the time machine.* SacredBowAndArrows: The first two bonus items.* ScreenShake: When Eve is prancing after Dirk, every time she lands on the ground there's an earthquake.* ShoutOut:** The Queen of Hearts, the playing cards, and the Cheshire Cat reciting the first stanza of ''Jabberwocky'' are a shout-out to the Disney adaptation of ''Disney/AliceInWonderland''.** The entire fifth level is a shout-out to the segments of Disney's ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'' and Schroeder's musical segment of ''WesternAnimation/ABoyNamedCharlieBrown''. Also a nod to Music/EltonJohn's live performances.* SissyVillain: The Angel who watches over Eden. And don't try to deny it! The minions of the Angel are the baby angels, in which if Dirk fails to escape them, they will tickle him as he laughs. If Dirk is, however, caught by the flaming sword, he will be spanked by it.* SneezeOfDoom: One game over sequence involves Dirk falling off of a tree branch into a patch of flowers, which cause him to sneeze.* SoundtrackDissonance: Near the end of the game, [[spoiler:when harp music plays in the background while Dirk is struggling to stay alive by fighting off imps and jumping onto crumbling platforms]].* SplitScreen: Happens twice in Level 5, though in this case it's more like a boxed screen that focuses on Dirk in order to let you help him know what to do.* StrippedToTheBone: Dirk, in some death scenes. Despite the Game Over from the first ''Dragon's Lair'' game not appearing if the player loses all of his/her lives, this trope appears in Level 6, in which the flesh eating gas literally melts Dirk's skin, leaving behind only his skeleton. Which does not crumble unlike the first ''Dragon's Lair'' game. Also, in another death scene of the same level, a spider eats the flesh off his arm as he freaks out. Level 7 had this in another death, where Monster Daphne takes away his flesh, resulting in his skeleton.* StrongFamilyResemblance: It seems that all of Dirk's and Daphne's ten children have the same hair colors and clothes as their parents. All six of the boys have the same brown hair color and [[LimitedWardrobe wear the same clothes, boots and helmets]] (and one of them has the same sword) as their dad; and all four girls have the same blonde hair color and wear the same blue dresses as their mom. The only thing different, however, is their hairstyles. See ExpositoryHairstyles above. Then again, all the girls have the same dress that seems to be either an {{expy}} or a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of the dresses of the Von Trapp girls in ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic''.* SuddenlyVoiced: [[spoiler: At the very end when Daphne revives from Dirk's kiss, upon seeing her alive and well, the overjoyed Dirk gets his first and only full line of dialogue in the series by happily screaming her name.]]* SwallowTheKey: Parodied in the ReCut edition: the first time Dirk grabs the key, he places it in a teacup and drinks it.* TalkingApplianceSidekick: The time machine, which is (somehow) Mordroc's brother.* TapOnTheHead: More like bopped on the head. Failure to dodge certain characters results in this.* TemptingApple: In Level 4, Dirk has to heed the advice of the Purple Snake and lure [[FatGirl Eve]] into temptation with an apple of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (in belief that he would rescue Daphne), all the while fighting off its green snake twin who can't hesitate to devour him. And while in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you have to carefully find the two Golden Apples in this level, which are two of the eleven hidden treasures needed to move on to the final two stages.* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Dirk does this in the final segment [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome stabbing Mordroc's arm]]. Mordroc tries to return the favor later, only for Dirk to catch the sword effortlessly.* TimeTravel: The whole plot of the game...supposedly. For some reason you also end up in the purely fictional story of Alice in Wonderland. There's also the Garden of Eden segment, the historical legitimacy of which is passionately debated by atheists and the religious.* TragicMonster: Daphne turns into a horrifying purple behemoth when she wears the Death Ring.* TrialAndErrorGameplay: Now, taken to the extreme. On your first time playing, you'll spend ''at least'' an hour to complete one 90-second scene. ''Two'', when you play a slow reflex port of this game (DVD players port is just one of the instances).* TrueLovesKiss: [[spoiler: Dirk uses this to revive Daphne at the end.]]* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Apparently Beethoven isn't too concerned about tiny knights and warlocks jumping around his room. [[SuperPersistentPredator His cat on the other hand...]] It's no surprise that this scene is a ShoutOut to Beethoven's growing hearing impairment when he wrote the first part of his Symphony No. 5 in Vienna in 1804, which explains the timeline in this scene.* WatchOutForThatTree: One game over sequence in the Wonderland stage involves Dirk headed splat into the trees if he fails to avoid them.* YouCanRunButYouCantHide: Spoken by Daphne's mother to Dirk during the ChaseScene.* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In both Level 2 and Level 6.* ZergRush: The ancient Egyptian tomb is swarming with spiders. Two of the game over sequences involve Dirk getting swarmed by hordes of spiders, one of which involves him plunging into the webs below.----